Novatel's MiFi 4510L is the first LTE based mobile hotspot on the market

Verizon has released the 4G LTE MiFi 4510L a, a mobile hotspot device that will enable up to five devices to connect to it via wifi and gain access to Verizon’s LTE network.

The Novatel manufactured device is available immediately online or can be picked up in stores from 21 April. It costs $100 on postpay, after a $50 rebate on a two-year contract.

The 84g device employs Qualcomms’s MDM9600 chipset and supports download speeds on Verizon’s 800/1900MHz LTE network of between 5-12Mbps, and uploads speeds of between 2 and 5Mbps.

It’s also backwards compatible with Verizon’s 700MHz 3G network. An E-ink display on the device shows at a glance signal strength, battery life, roaming status and the number of connected devices. Battery life is given at five hours of continuous usage.

Verizon’s Deepak Kakadia will be speaking on day two of the LTE World Summit.

Verizon’s LTE MiFi announcement comes at a timely riposte to T-Mobile USA’s recently launched HSPA+ mobile hotspot.

Verizon’s LTE network currently covers 110m people, while T-Mobile USA claims to have the largest 4G network in the country with an HSPA+ network that covers up to 200m people.

T-Mobile is now offering a Mobile Hotspot device that runs on on its HSPA+ network

T-Mobile USA customers can now purchase a 4G Mobile Hotspot device enabling up to five wifi devices to connect to its network. The device is available on a two-year contract at a cost of $79. It features a memory card slot, weighs 74.8g and has a four-hour in-use battery life  with 100 hours of standby time.

But the launch has once again brought to the fore the controversy over 4G branding in the marketplace. While rival Verizon’s 4G network is based on LTE, T-Mobile’s next-gen service is based on HSPA+. Meanwhile, Sprint also markets its WiMAX based network as 4G.

It’s all pretty confusing and in fact, the ITU-R organisation has set the standard for true 4G as providing 100Mbps when mobile and 1Gbps for low mobility situations, speeds which no current service currently provides.

In a forthcoming interview with Telecoms.com, Dan Warren, senior director of technology at the GSMA took umbrage at operators leaping to describe their services as 4G, stating that, “the use of 4G now is marketing at its laziest”.

According to Informa statistics, T-Mobile USA currently has a 10.8 per cent overall market share compared to 30.9 per cent for Verizon Wireless, while Sprint has 16.31 per cent of the US market.

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The R201 is similar in concept to the Novotel Mifi, 3’s MiFi offering, and Sprint’s Overdrive

UK-based Vodafone is embracing the mobile broadband-enabled hotspot device type, with the unveiling of the R201. The unit, which is similar in concept to the Novotel Mifi, 3’s MiFi offering, and Sprint’s Overdrive, enables five wifi devices to simultaneously share digital content stored on the device (via SD card) and access the internet via a mobile broadband connection.

Vodafone already offers the Novotel Mifi, which is a similar device, but the R201 comes with embedded Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) software, allowing Vodafone customers to view their digital content, such as music, video and photos, across all DLNA compatible devices, including laptops, netbooks, mobile phones, gaming devices, TVs and radios.

DLNA is a standard used to enable the sharing of digital media between different consumer electronics, so a DLNA compliant TV can interoperate with a DLNA compliant PC to play music, photos or videos. Digital Rights Management (DRM) is built into the standard.

Vodafone said the device will be available in various countries during 2010. “The Vodafone R201 Mobile WiFi device enables our customers to take the WiFi connectivity experience they have at home or in the office everywhere with them, thanks to Vodafone Mobile Broadband,” said Huw Medcraft, Vodafone’s director of mobile broadband.

It’s interesting to see how operators are pushing these devices, as they have the potential to increase mobile broadband traffic on the network. But more interesting still is how they sit alongside femtocells, which are designed to take traffic off the mobile network, such as Vodafone’s own Sure Signal device.

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A tablet a day keeps churn at bay

The UK’s mobile underdog and most disruptive wireless player, 3, has unveiled its own tariffs for the Apple iPad, which lands in the UK on Friday, and they’re pretty competitive.

On a one month rolling contract, 3 is pitching 1GB of data for £7.50 per month and 10GB of data for £15.00 per month. This comes in as the cheapest monthly deal for 1GB and the best value for 10GB.

Details on O2, Vodafone and Orange’s tariffs can be found here. So far T-Mobile UK is the only UK carrier left out in the cold without an iPad.

Interestingly, 3 is also pitching itself as tablet friendly for devices other than the iPad. On Tuesday the carrier began promoting a range of tariffs for its MiFi mobile hotspot device, which allows a user to connect non-cellular devices (such as the iPod Touch or a wifi only tablet) over wifi and make use of the MiFi as mobile backhaul.

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The MiFi mobile broadband hotspot

Vodafone has confirmed plans to deploy the MiFi mobile broadband hotspot in three markets but may face a challenge in marketing the device to end users.

The concept of a mobile broadband hotspot is gaining traction in the tech world, but may be a difficult one to pitch to consumers. The MiFi, manufactured by Novatel, is a pocket sized box powered by batteries or a mains supply and can connect up to five wifi-enabled devices with a cellular backhaul connection – a sort of 3G dongle on steroids.

Telecoms.com has been playing with one of the Novatel devices for a couple of weeks and is impressed by the concept. It’s more user friendly than a dongle because, with  no software to install, everything is accessed via a web interface. But the main benefit is that you can move the unit to an optimum coverage position — by the window, say — and leave your laptop or other wifi-capable devices on the desk or a more comfortable location. With a couple of hours battery life, it’s also got potential as an emergency hotspot, when you need to get a handful of users online.

Small businesses may understand the advantages of being able to set up a micro network on the fly, but explaining the concept to consumers is a different story altogether. Even Vodafone doesn’t seem to have a coherent pitch, with a spokesman saying that it is being marketed as a way to bring wireless connectivity to devices that might not otherwise have it, such as cameras, media players and gaming consoles. But as one analyst noted, the question here is why you would want to bring mobility to such devices? Gaming consoles would likely be better of connecting to the internet via a fixed line, where bandwidth and latency are not so much of an issue, while cameras and media players would need an interface to be able to use the connectivity and would likely struggle to stream any sort of media reliably.

Vodafone will initially make the MiFi 2352 device available in Germany, Romania and Spain, with no details on pricing or other markets available as yet.

Commenting on the announcement by Vodafone, Michael Kovacocy, European telecoms analyst and sector strategist at Daiwa Securities, said that the device represented a serious part of the convergence puzzle but the operator would likely be faced with difficulties in the economics of distribution as well as the marketing of the device. However, Kovacocy suggested that as a technological development, the mobile broadband hotspot could pave the way for the appearance of an ‘intelligent router’ in the home, perhaps combining it with a femtocell. Such a device could have both fixed line and mobile broadband connectivity, sending heavy duty apps over the fixed broadband connection and lighter touch apps over the mobile network, for example.

Earlier this month, 3 UK, announced its own plans to bring a similar mobile hotspot device to the country later this month. 3’s Mobile wifi device, also known as ‘MiFi’, is not the same MiFi unit that is manufactured by Novatel Wireless, but is instead a branded Huawei E5830 wireless modem that does a very similar job.

From September 18, 3 Mobile Wifi will be available from 3 on two plans: Broadband 5GB  is a one month rolling contract which includes 5GB of data for £15 a month, with an outlay of £69.99 for the device; and a Ready to Go option which prices the device at £99.99 and includes 3GB worth of data which can be used over a three month period, afterwards topped up on a prepay basis.

3 UK's Mobile Wifi (MiFi) unit

The UK’s disruptive mobile operator, 3 UK, has unveiled plans to bring a mobile hotspot device to the country later this month.

The Mobile wifi device, known as ‘MiFi’, is not the same MiFi unit that is manufactured by US firm Novatel Wireless as telecoms.com originally reported. 3′s ‘MiFi’, which we shall now refer to as Mobile Wifi, is a branded Huawei E5830 wireless modem that does a very similar job to the Novatel device.

The unit is a pocket sized box that runs off batteries or mains and can connect a handful of wifi powered devices with a cellular backhaul connection (HSPA in this case) – a sort of  3G dongle on steroids.

From September 18, Mobile Wifi will be available from 3 on two plans: Broadband 5GB  is a one month rolling contract which includes 5GB of data for £15 a month, with an outlay of £69.99 for the device; and a Ready to Go option which prices the device at £99.99 and includes 3GB worth of data which can be used over a three month period, afterwards topped up on a prepay basis.

The 'other' MiFi unit, by Novatel

Telecoms.com has been playing with one of the Novatel MiFi devices for a couple of weeks and is impressed by the concept. It’s more user friendly than a dongle because there’s no software to install as everything is accessed via a web interface. But the main benefit is that you can move the unit to an optimum coverage position – by the window, say, and leave your laptop or other wifi capable devices on the desk or a more comfortable location. With a couple of hours battery life, it’s also got potential as an emergency hotspot, when you need to get a handful of users online.